Great to see you here. I've talked about this many times with ND people of the era and, of course, read the great Twombly book, but I always thought the thing that rang most true was that, yes, Fr. Hesburgh and your father somewhat butted heads, most if it having to do with Fr. Ted establishing his vision of ND as a first rate university along with a first rate football program, but that your father's health, mental and physical, had simply became too worriesome.

As it was explained to me, Fr. Hesburgh did cut the number of scholarships available to your father, which certainly made things more difficult, but it was mostly because Fr. Ted simply didn't understand how hard it is to win in football. His actions were born more out of the desire to be well within the then current rules AND to win. It was as if he just thought that at ND you rolled out the football and the rest took care of itself.

But more than anything was that your father was so obsessive that people feared for his health. There is the example of fainting during halftime of the GTech game (they gave him the last rights), which they called pancreatis or something, but appears in retrospect to have been a massive panic attack. They didn't know that then, but that's what he was having. At least that's what a guy, a QB, on his teams told me.

It just became one of those things where he seemed to be getting more and more on the edge, more unstable in a way (moose Krause makes mention of this in the video Wake Up The Echoes), and when combined with the "fainting Irish" criticism and the other controversies that seemed to be coming up more and more, it just became something that "had to be done."

My source said, "It was also very typical of Father Hesburgh at the time that he thought a 25 year old with no head coaching experience could run the program. Father Hesburgh seemed to think the football program almost ran itself."

And so it would appear that, yes, your father was fired. Yes, there was some head butting (especially after) but that the main reason was the fear that staying on the job would kill him - or that he'd lose it.

Curious as to your thoughts on that....

My wife's grandparents lived directly across the street from your home in Long Beach, so my wife spent a lot of time there as a kid. Looks like your home there was a great place (and still is). Email me if you like.

Now my wife's parents have a condo a number of stops down in Michigan City...only condo tower there, right on the beach. They were members of LBCC for years.

Regards.

*

click on: (click here to email the poster)

occasionally monitoring the board.

I never go away.
I just read and try to add when I can.
I'm a loyal fan to this site & UHND.
Fred

I bought that book for my dad for Christmas oh so many years ago. He was in high school in the mid-forties when your dad was at ND and is the one that got me started as an ND fan. I just borrowed it from him to read (when I have the time!). I remember reading Wells Twombly in the SF Chronicle I believe. He died too young.

...here it is.

I think the fact that he was willing to bury the hatchet and spend that time with Frank and his family at the bitter end demonstrates not only the inexorable connection Hesburgh felt with others who possessed a lifelong passion for ND but an appreciation for the critical role that Leahy and his success played in the ongoing blossoming of the university.

Thanks a million for contributing that.

It says so much about the university and about the people involved. It shows, for example, that Ted/Ned would never have allowed the Moore fiasco get so out of hand. A major part of the job involves handling the human side of difficult situations, and Ted/Ned understood that fact far more than Monk/Beauchamp ever could.

Erecting the statue of your father was long overdue.

*

ca. 1967. My sister (class of '83) and your niece attended the same kindergarten/pre-school in the Chicago SW burbs, and my mother and your sister split the driving. My mother recalls stories about your father's drivenness that you have already recounted here.

What is probably most fascinating about your father's career is that, as the line coach at Fordham under Jim Crowley, he coached a guard who proved to be just as driven as a coach as your father was.

Possibly the three greatest coaches ever.

I read Twombley's book a number of years ago (10 or 15) and I recall him being very critical of Notre Dame throughout the book. He seemed to insinuate that your father's devotion to Notre Dame was somehow Notre Dame's fault and a negative situation for your family. I also recall that he stated that Notre Dame didn't send any spokespeople of significance to your father's funeral. True? I've always believed (my own interpretation) that your father's love of Notre Dame was part of his paying homage to Rockne who he loved like a father. To me, Rockne, Leahy and Parseghian stand above all other coaches and even Holtz and Devine weren't in their league. I was born a little too late to experience any of the Leahy era but there was always something special about his name. It was always spoken with reverence. Bud Wilkinson was always extremely respectful of Notre Dame and it stemmed specifically, I thought, from his experiences playing against Frank Leahy.

Twombley was a bit strange in his perceptions of ND.
Tried to convey images that didn't hit the mark.
As for Dads funeral it was a bit ugly.
Notre Dame Nation wanted dad buried in South Bend.
My mom said no. She stated that Notre Dame had Frank Leahy for all those years and she wanted him to herself now. She wanted him buried in Portland so she and all of us could visit his grave etc.
This created a real split with players, alumni, and in general lots of the ND nation.
With this said there were two ceremonies for dad. The funeral in Portland and services in S.Bend.
Al Davis in the opening of the book really scorched many of the players and dads friends, asking "where were they"?

As one reflects on dad and ND. It never was and never will be an easy place to coach or be a part of.

All I know is that dad absolutely worshiped Rockne, and ND and the alumni but more importantly, What ND stood for as it related to educating the future leaders of America. He adored the students at ND. Past and present.

in the past. My Dad had great memories of him in the Pacific during WWII.

I thought that Twombly missed the mark repeatedly as well and it sounds like he omitted some critical information. Your dad's deep affection for Rockne has always been evident to me and what's really special is that his players had the same adoration for him, though not always during their careers. My son is a high school football coach (an assistant and a very good one, I believe). Whenever he gets really frustrated I'll throw out a line that I've heard quoted of Frank Leahy, "Have you suffered enough for success?!" And, as Johnny Lujack said, "Leahy knew the meaning of the word 'sacrifice'". As far as I'm concerned, they couldn't make statues big enough for Rockne or Leahy.

and some great insights and rational, objective views which most of us would probably have difficulty posting in similar circumstances....

First, let me say that is an honor to see you posting here. Thank you.

I recall during my freshman year in Breen-Phillips walking past the ND Fire House, and hearing a classmate talk about your father, and how, during the season, he spent so much time on campus that he often slept in a room in the Fire House.

Is that true? If so, how often did he bunk there?

My father was a workaholic.
He viewed time spent driving home as wasted time.
He did indeed spend nights in the firehouse and his offices.
Prepare, prepare, prepare was dads driving force.
That's why if he was alive today he would tell you he missed his number one goal he set for himself.
To go 10 years without a defeat.
I kid you not.
Take care,
Fred

He truly was an amazing coach.

I wish I had had a chance to see him in action.

That photo of him with the team behind him, his face a picture of worry and concentration, is classic.

including an appraisal of your father's frailties that was likely much more candid than many of us would offer about our own fathers.

The fact that so many of your father's former players speak so highly of him and the role he played in their lives -- far beyond the football field -- speaks even more to his greatness than his incomparable (to anyone other than Rockne) football accomplishments.

played baseball at ND. He tells the story with such pride about walking on campus one day when he ran into Leahy. He was utterly shocked when he called my colleague by his name and asked how things were going.

...it doesn't alter the fact that your father was arguably the greatest college football coach in American history, with only one legitimate contender for that spot (and he also a Notre Dame coach). Of course, I was only old enough to follow one of those unbeaten teams, the 1953 unit, which remains my favorite ND team. Coached to a merciless (for its opponents) near perfection. It would have mopped the field with Maryland had they met in a bowl game.

I well remember the shock of F.L.'s departure among ND fans, whom I had just recently joined as a child member. I even recall some of his "interventions" in the press, during 1956. As I recall, they were usually identified as attempts to needle the team into performing better than they had been doing that miserable year.